Rams vs Cardinals: Official Game Day Thread

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DR RAM

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So you bring in 5 or 6 UDFA OL'man, that's great, but how many of them actually make the roster, maybe 1 of them, 2 would be a minor miracle. The math doesn't work out, there are way too many needs left there. Even if those guys make the roster, it puts more rookies on the offensive line. Even top picks struggle.

We will have to draft, try to find UDFA's, and sign FA's to try to fix the line. It sucks, nobody likes it, but there it is.

The thing is, once you sign 20 UDFAs, your chances of finding a gem go up, right?

I know it's not likely, but I would be as happy finding a WR who can be a Pro Bowl caliber type WR in UDFA as I would be if he was drafted in the first round. Samething applies with OL, and hopefully Hughes can turn into something.

Well sure, and I have no problem with that. I happen to think it's one of Billy's strengths, and he tries to do that every year, but even 1 gem won't solve our problems, that is my point, and finding a diamond in the rough is an extreme longshot, and I don't want to gamble my entire next season on that longshot. There needs to be a mix of draft, free agency, retention, and luck. The offensive line is a near complete rebuild next year.
 

Angry Ram

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Lesson said:
Angry Ram said:
Lesson said:
Some of you might disagree, but WR and OL aren't the largest needs that have to he filled in the offseason.

DT and LB are.

No, they aren't. Well, @ least the top needs they aren't. Any defense that can lose all the guys they have to IR so early and still rank top 10 (yes top 10) in pass D, and before today and after Dallas had better run D, well it says something.

They need an OT, b/c of Jason Smith's concussion issues. And they need a legit #1 WR like Blackmon, Jeffery. Gibson, great worker, great guy, but he has had far too many drops and hasn't been anything near the hype. DX, again great worker, great guy...just not reliable w/ his injuries. It may be best to cut him loose and give the oppurtunity to someone who can play in all 16 games. Lloyd is nice and all, but he also had his drops but def. worth keeping.

Blackmon/Jeffery, Salas, Amendola, Salas, Pettis/Miller. Then w/ Kendricks' development...nice set @ the skill posistion. IDK who the 2nd round WR guys are, but Kalil is also a legit option.

As I said, the secondary is something I'm willing to give an excuse to. Gordy seems decent.

But look at the DT. Scott is the youngest player at that position. Robbins is aging, Bannan seems like he can be kept around for another season or two.

I know the Rams need weapons at WR, and help on the OL, but I believe those can be filled in FA.

Take a DT, it doesn't matter how good a DT is if Gibson keeps dropping passes and DX keeps gettin hurt. Especially w/ this OC that hardly utilizes the running game.

Teams don't let their best players go, unless its nothing they can do (like Asomugha) so getting a WR or OT that way is a lot harder (and probably more expensive). Maybe RT in FA is possible.

I agree that taking Kalil so early isn't so exciting, but if he is as good as they say he is...gotta take him and protect Sam.
 

Lesson

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Angry Ram said:
Take a DT, it doesn't matter how good a DT is if Gibson keeps dropping passes and DX keeps gettin hurt. Especially w/ this OC that hardly utilizes the running game.

Teams don't let their best players go, unless its nothing they can do (like Asomugha) so getting a WR or OT that way is a lot harder (and probably more expensive). Maybe RT in FA is possible.

I agree that taking Kalil so early isn't so exciting, but if he is as good as they say he is...gotta take him and protect Sam.

I'm in favor of the Rams adding at least one WR in FA or the draft.

A WR corps of:

Lloyd
Pettis
Salas
Amendola
[Drafted or WR signed in FA]
Curry

Doesn't look too bad, does it?

Picture how amazing the defense would be if the Rams improved in the front 7.

Offensive line needs to be addressed, but IMO, that can be filled in FA.
 

DR RAM

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X said:
DR RAM said:
So you bring in 5 or 6 UDFA OL'man, that's great, but how many of them actually make the roster, maybe 1 of them, 2 would be a minor miracle. The math doesn't work out, there are way too many needs left there. Even if those guys make the roster, it puts more rookies on the offensive line. Even top picks struggle.

We will have to draft, try to find UDFA's, and sign FA's to try to fix the line. It sucks, nobody likes it, but there it is.
Here's my line of thinking on that. Say they draft a OT in the first round. Great. Now they have the tackle they want. But they lose out on a true playmaking wide receiver. Now if the OL has to get shuffled around again, or they don't do as well as you expect, who do you have on offense who can bail out Bradford? Right now he has Lloyd. If next year he has Lloyd, Salas and Blackmon/Jeffery, then he has more options. I think it would be a grave error to go into next season with just Lloyd, Salas and Pettis. They need two legitimate wide receivers on the perimeters.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm just tired of seeing a lack of explosive players on offense.

I didn't say that they should draft a 1st rounder on the o-line. I don't do those evaluations until the the season is way over. I just think that the OL IS the biggest need and it won't be fixed by UDFA's. I would take the best player whether it be Kalil or Blackmon, or... If you saw my earlier post, I said that a playmaker is a huge need, along with DT. I've been saying we needed a playmaker for 3 years now, why the fuck hasn't it happened?
 

Lesson

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I love Steven Jackson.
I love how he plays the game.
I love how he's handled himself since his holdout.
I would love for him to play his whole career as a Ram in St. Louis.

However, I wouldn't be against the idea of trading Jackson depending on the return.
 

Angry Ram

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Lesson said:
Angry Ram said:
Take a DT, it doesn't matter how good a DT is if Gibson keeps dropping passes and DX keeps gettin hurt. Especially w/ this OC that hardly utilizes the running game.

Teams don't let their best players go, unless its nothing they can do (like Asomugha) so getting a WR or OT that way is a lot harder (and probably more expensive). Maybe RT in FA is possible.

I agree that taking Kalil so early isn't so exciting, but if he is as good as they say he is...gotta take him and protect Sam.

I'm in favor of the Rams adding at least one WR in FA or the draft.

A WR corps of:

Lloyd
Pettis
Salas
Amendola
[Drafted or WR signed in FA]
Curry

Doesn't look too bad, does it?

Picture how amazing the defense would be if the Rams improved in the front 7.

Offensive line needs to be addressed, but IMO, that can be filled in FA.

Yeah, I'm w/ you. Blackmon/Jeffery, Lloyd, Amendola, Salas, Miller. Plus Kendricks. Keep Miller for PR.

I don' count Curry since he's just a ST guy.

I think this D is already pretty good. They just need a break from the O.
 

bluecoconuts

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Lesson said:
I love Steven Jackson.
I love how he plays the game.
I love how he's handled himself since his holdout.
I would love for him to play his whole career as a Ram in St. Louis.

However, I wouldn't be against the idea of trading Jackson depending on the return.

There would have to be at least a mid level first round pick involved for me to even think about it, to draft a replacement.
 

Lesson

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Angry Ram said:
Yeah, I'm w/ you. Blackmon/Jeffery, Lloyd, Amendola, Salas, Miller. Plus Kendricks. Keep Miller for PR.

I don' count Curry since he's just a ST guy.

I think this D is already pretty good. They just need a break from the O.

You'd want Pettis gone? I believe he's proven himself to be apart of the future.

I think the Rams are closer to having a great defense than they are offense, which, depending on how you look at it, is pretty much a complete 180 turn from 2008.

I just don't like the idea of having starting OLBs of Chambo and Poppinga, and starting an aging player at DT.
 

-X-

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DR RAM said:
X said:
DR RAM said:
So you bring in 5 or 6 UDFA OL'man, that's great, but how many of them actually make the roster, maybe 1 of them, 2 would be a minor miracle. The math doesn't work out, there are way too many needs left there. Even if those guys make the roster, it puts more rookies on the offensive line. Even top picks struggle.

We will have to draft, try to find UDFA's, and sign FA's to try to fix the line. It sucks, nobody likes it, but there it is.
Here's my line of thinking on that. Say they draft a OT in the first round. Great. Now they have the tackle they want. But they lose out on a true playmaking wide receiver. Now if the OL has to get shuffled around again, or they don't do as well as you expect, who do you have on offense who can bail out Bradford? Right now he has Lloyd. If next year he has Lloyd, Salas and Blackmon/Jeffery, then he has more options. I think it would be a grave error to go into next season with just Lloyd, Salas and Pettis. They need two legitimate wide receivers on the perimeters.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm just tired of seeing a lack of explosive players on offense.

I didn't say that they should draft a 1st rounder on the o-line. I don't do those evaluations until the the season is way over. I just think that the OL IS the biggest need and it won't be fixed by UDFA's. I would take the best player whether it be Kalil or Blackmon, or... If you saw my earlier post, I said that a playmaker is a huge need, along with DT. I've been saying we needed a playmaker for 3 years now, why the fuck hasn't it happened?
Why hasn't it happened? Beats the shit out of me. I made a post a few days ago about why it has been REALLY difficult for this team to get ahold of a difference maker at receiver. I mean, if you look around the league, where are they? Torrey Smith is about the only one I've seen that the Rams would have had the opportunity to draft. Free Agent wide receivers aren't doing shit either, and there haven't been any available to the Rams at all. Not in 2009, not in 2010, and not this year. The best receivers in the league have been the ones that got re-signed by their respective teams.
 

superfan24

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Lesson said:
I love Steven Jackson.
I love how he plays the game.
I love how he's handled himself since his holdout.
I would love for him to play his whole career as a Ram in St. Louis.

However, I wouldn't be against the idea of trading Jackson depending on the return.

Would be one of my saddest days as a Rams fan to see him go onto a different team. He is the heart and soul of the franchise and idc what anyone offers for him. RAM FOR LIFE
 

Lesson

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X said:
DR RAM said:
X said:
DR RAM said:
So you bring in 5 or 6 UDFA OL'man, that's great, but how many of them actually make the roster, maybe 1 of them, 2 would be a minor miracle. The math doesn't work out, there are way too many needs left there. Even if those guys make the roster, it puts more rookies on the offensive line. Even top picks struggle.

We will have to draft, try to find UDFA's, and sign FA's to try to fix the line. It sucks, nobody likes it, but there it is.
Here's my line of thinking on that. Say they draft a OT in the first round. Great. Now they have the tackle they want. But they lose out on a true playmaking wide receiver. Now if the OL has to get shuffled around again, or they don't do as well as you expect, who do you have on offense who can bail out Bradford? Right now he has Lloyd. If next year he has Lloyd, Salas and Blackmon/Jeffery, then he has more options. I think it would be a grave error to go into next season with just Lloyd, Salas and Pettis. They need two legitimate wide receivers on the perimeters.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm just tired of seeing a lack of explosive players on offense.

I didn't say that they should draft a 1st rounder on the o-line. I don't do those evaluations until the the season is way over. I just think that the OL IS the biggest need and it won't be fixed by UDFA's. I would take the best player whether it be Kalil or Blackmon, or... If you saw my earlier post, I said that a playmaker is a huge need, along with DT. I've been saying we needed a playmaker for 3 years now, why the freak hasn't it happened?
Why hasn't it happened? Beats the shyte out of me. I made a post a few days ago about why it has been REALLY difficult for this team to get ahold of a difference maker at receiver. I mean, if you look around the league, where are they? Torrey Smith is about the only one I've seen that the Rams would have had the opportunity to draft. Free Agent wide receivers aren't doing shyte either, and there haven't been any available to the Rams at all. Not in 2009, not in 2010, and not this year. The best receivers in the league have been the ones that got re-signed by their respective teams.


The Rams opted for Pettis/Salas over Smith. I'm not going to complain about that, as I see both being a part of the Rams for a long time.
 

Angry Ram

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Lesson said:
Angry Ram said:
Yeah, I'm w/ you. Blackmon/Jeffery, Lloyd, Amendola, Salas, Miller. Plus Kendricks. Keep Miller for PR.

I don' count Curry since he's just a ST guy.

I think this D is already pretty good. They just need a break from the O.

You'd want Pettis gone? I believe he's proven himself to be apart of the future.

I think the Rams are closer to having a great defense than they are offense, which, depending on how you look at it, is pretty much a complete 180 turn from 2008.

I just don't like the idea of having starting OLBs of Chambo and Poppinga, and starting an aging player at DT.

Oh no, sorry I forgot to put his name up. Chombers has been pretty good lately. He's made some good plays.
 

Lesson

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Angry Ram said:
Lesson said:
Angry Ram said:
Yeah, I'm w/ you. Blackmon/Jeffery, Lloyd, Amendola, Salas, Miller. Plus Kendricks. Keep Miller for PR.

I don' count Curry since he's just a ST guy.

I think this D is already pretty good. They just need a break from the O.

You'd want Pettis gone? I believe he's proven himself to be apart of the future.

I think the Rams are closer to having a great defense than they are offense, which, depending on how you look at it, is pretty much a complete 180 turn from 2008.

I just don't like the idea of having starting OLBs of Chambo and Poppinga, and starting an aging player at DT.

Oh no, sorry I forgot to put his name up. Chombers has been pretty good lately. He's made some good plays.

I don't have a problem with Chambo starting if it meant Poppinga was gone or backing up someone.
 

Lesson

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My question is, would the Rams help themselves in the long run if they underwent a rebuild or try to fix the current holes on the team?
 

DR RAM

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Lesson said:
X said:
DR RAM said:
X said:
DR RAM said:
So you bring in 5 or 6 UDFA OL'man, that's great, but how many of them actually make the roster, maybe 1 of them, 2 would be a minor miracle. The math doesn't work out, there are way too many needs left there. Even if those guys make the roster, it puts more rookies on the offensive line. Even top picks struggle.

We will have to draft, try to find UDFA's, and sign FA's to try to fix the line. It sucks, nobody likes it, but there it is.
Here's my line of thinking on that. Say they draft a OT in the first round. Great. Now they have the tackle they want. But they lose out on a true playmaking wide receiver. Now if the OL has to get shuffled around again, or they don't do as well as you expect, who do you have on offense who can bail out Bradford? Right now he has Lloyd. If next year he has Lloyd, Salas and Blackmon/Jeffery, then he has more options. I think it would be a grave error to go into next season with just Lloyd, Salas and Pettis. They need two legitimate wide receivers on the perimeters.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm just tired of seeing a lack of explosive players on offense.

I didn't say that they should draft a 1st rounder on the o-line. I don't do those evaluations until the the season is way over. I just think that the OL IS the biggest need and it won't be fixed by UDFA's. I would take the best player whether it be Kalil or Blackmon, or... If you saw my earlier post, I said that a playmaker is a huge need, along with DT. I've been saying we needed a playmaker for 3 years now, why the freak hasn't it happened?
Why hasn't it happened? Beats the shyte out of me. I made a post a few days ago about why it has been REALLY difficult for this team to get ahold of a difference maker at receiver. I mean, if you look around the league, where are they? Torrey Smith is about the only one I've seen that the Rams would have had the opportunity to draft. Free Agent wide receivers aren't doing shyte either, and there haven't been any available to the Rams at all. Not in 2009, not in 2010, and not this year. The best receivers in the league have been the ones that got re-signed by their respective teams.


The Rams opted for Pettis/Salas over Smith. I'm not going to complain about that, as I see both being a part of the Rams for a long time.
We need to look at RB playmakers too. We missed on Gilyard, he seems, in my recollection, as the only playmaker that we've tried to get. Salas has potential as a playmaker. I want a change of pace speed back and we need to start to look at the future there. And we have to find a pure burner at WR.
 

Lesson

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DR RAM said:
Lesson said:
X said:
DR RAM said:
X said:
DR RAM said:
So you bring in 5 or 6 UDFA OL'man, that's great, but how many of them actually make the roster, maybe 1 of them, 2 would be a minor miracle. The math doesn't work out, there are way too many needs left there. Even if those guys make the roster, it puts more rookies on the offensive line. Even top picks struggle.

We will have to draft, try to find UDFA's, and sign FA's to try to fix the line. It sucks, nobody likes it, but there it is.
Here's my line of thinking on that. Say they draft a OT in the first round. Great. Now they have the tackle they want. But they lose out on a true playmaking wide receiver. Now if the OL has to get shuffled around again, or they don't do as well as you expect, who do you have on offense who can bail out Bradford? Right now he has Lloyd. If next year he has Lloyd, Salas and Blackmon/Jeffery, then he has more options. I think it would be a grave error to go into next season with just Lloyd, Salas and Pettis. They need two legitimate wide receivers on the perimeters.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm just tired of seeing a lack of explosive players on offense.

I didn't say that they should draft a 1st rounder on the o-line. I don't do those evaluations until the the season is way over. I just think that the OL IS the biggest need and it won't be fixed by UDFA's. I would take the best player whether it be Kalil or Blackmon, or... If you saw my earlier post, I said that a playmaker is a huge need, along with DT. I've been saying we needed a playmaker for 3 years now, why the freak hasn't it happened?
Why hasn't it happened? Beats the shyte out of me. I made a post a few days ago about why it has been REALLY difficult for this team to get ahold of a difference maker at receiver. I mean, if you look around the league, where are they? Torrey Smith is about the only one I've seen that the Rams would have had the opportunity to draft. Free Agent wide receivers aren't doing shyte either, and there haven't been any available to the Rams at all. Not in 2009, not in 2010, and not this year. The best receivers in the league have been the ones that got re-signed by their respective teams.


The Rams opted for Pettis/Salas over Smith. I'm not going to complain about that, as I see both being a part of the Rams for a long time.
We need to look at RB playmakers too. We missed on Gilyard, he seems, in my recollection, as the only playmaker that we've tried to get. Salas has potential as a playmaker. I want a change of pace speed back and we need to start to look at the future there. And we have to find a pure burner at WR.

I'd agree with that, too. I'd love to fill most of the needs through the draft instead of signing players that appear to be way past their prime in FA.
 

DR RAM

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Lesson said:
My question is, would the Rams help themselves in the long run if they underwent a rebuild or try to fix the current holes on the team?
We're still in re-build....
 

Lesson

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DR RAM said:
Lesson said:
My question is, would the Rams help themselves in the long run if they underwent a rebuild or try to fix the current holes on the team?
We're still in re-build....

There's a difference between what happened with the team in the 08-09 and 09-10 offseasons than there is with the 10-11 offseason.

I am talking major rebuild...
 

bluecoconuts

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Lesson said:
My question is, would the Rams help themselves in the long run if they underwent a rebuild or try to fix the current holes on the team?

Continue building, we have talent, we can see that in flashes. Quinn, Pettis today, Salas showed flashes after a poor start, Sam has flashes, even Kendricks had some flashes, including today.... Stewart as well.

We don't have depth, if we had depth and didn't have half our roster in the hospital we could develop younger players more. There's talent, it's just not polished enough, I think we need to continue to build, at least for another year. Then we can start to talk about replacement of front office personnel.

We are a few holes, and a healthy roster away from competing with just about anyone in my opinion.
 

DR RAM

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Lesson said:
DR RAM said:
Lesson said:
My question is, would the Rams help themselves in the long run if they underwent a rebuild or try to fix the current holes on the team?
We're still in re-build....

There's a difference between what happened with the team in the 08-09 and 09-10 offseasons than there is with the 10-11 offseason.

I am talking major rebuild...
It's going to feel like a major rebuild this offseason. There will be tons of changes. This team is full of under-performing, untalented, overpaid, and injury prone players.